In the MAL there is a version of Pong that works with no computer and it was one of the most interesting games I saw in the there. The rest hurt my eyes a little bit but the interface of the pong game was very interesting. It was a handheld device that looked like it worked as a clock mechanism, there was a single light that moved back and forth like the ball. The interface of this game had only 3 buttons to act like paddle and then on the side it had a slide trigger to shoot the “ball” back. As I was playing this game i though about how the way we hit back the ball to the opponent has changed from buttons to one solid paddle, and how much easier it is to play now then it was before. I also thought about how the interface of the whole game hasn’t really changed based on the looks of it only the mechanics on how you actually play has changed. The game still has a timer and it still keeps score but the way you played it was a lot harder in a physical held game than in a digital version we have now. It gives it a sense of competitiveness greater than the digital version. It was a lot more effective of keeping my interest compared to the online game.

The goal of this level is to make it to the end without taking damage at all. The level is similar to my last level but this time I have made it harder to get through by adding different enemy’s and obstacles. I have also added two different paths you can take but each one has their own consequence to it. Be prepared and make your way through the level with Mario, make sure he makes it without a scratch.

Feedback from class:

• beginning should be longer
• have the bottom be lava or something that kills you faster
• move the gumba that kills you forward so you have more time to run through the level
• change the power ups to be something against the enemy’s
• Overall the level is good should add more mechanics so that if you do fail the mission level you can restart quicker

For my level design assessment I played Half-Life 2, it has a different layout than common games since they don’t go by level. The story is continues and has chapters so I decided to play an entire chapter to give a better assessment. The beginning gives you a a guided tutorial in a way because you start off on a train you only have one way to go even if it looks like an open layout. On screen it gives you ways to interact with object and the controls you should be using as a small tutorial as you make your way through the first couple of minutes of the game. I also noticed that as you play through the chapter NPC are talking to themselves or other NPC but never really to you, yet they are talking about the main story and you get a lot of lore from it.

Looking at the map in perspective of the player it looks really big but you are very limited to where you can go and the way they limit you is by blocking things off with guards. In the game you have no voice so everything that is happening around you is just assumed that you know what is going on, thus the story is told this way. As you move along with the chapter you have to figure out how to puzzle solve with what they give you, this is a creative mechanic that also is like a tutorial. At the beginning when you are given different object you have to figure out how to use them, for example the crowbar your automatically given this object to use with no explanation. But because the map has obstacles that are breakable you learn how to use it and what its really meant for, I notice that that’s a big part of valve games where each level gives you something to learn and how to use it.

After playing through half-life analyzing the level I realized a lot of things that I didn’t pay attention too when I initially played it. The level and map are very linear but it looks like an open world, you are allowed to play with things through the level but the story continues as if nothing happened. I found that very interesting while doing this, looking at a level in this perspective was a lot more interesting.

Game Concept 1: The Elemelons, a game where elemental watermelons have showed up to save the world. As the world is under attack only these elemental watermelons have the power to fight back and protect those in harms way.

Game Concept 2: The backwards narrative, a game where you complete the whole game backwards. You start off at the final boss level and then work backwards to find out why your life has brought you to this point.

Game Concept 3: Ive always wanted to make a game that fallows the Stanly parable perspective. But instead of being Stanly you are the narrator and you have to guide a player through the game making something up before they catch you.

Game Concept 4: A narrative game that makes you make choices, there is no right or wrong just consequences in the journey. You play as a child but you are moved through the story by someone else, you have to find out what is really going on without letting the narrator know.

Game Concept 5: CU Boulder GTA, recreating Cu boulder campus and making it a free for all GTA style game play. Imagine being able to dive tanks down the street or even climbing the buildings to completing objectives.

Shake That Button has a lot of unique games and each one has their own unique controls. One of my favorites is the Bluster Blunder which I got to see personally at WHAAAT, it was really cool to see a control made out of game cartridges. It brought back childhood memories when using those controllers, its a really creative idea to use a mechanic we used a long time ago. The other control that was interesting was the Fluid Structures 360, it was interesting to see how the fluid was manipulated by people walking around. It reminds me of water bending when you can manipulate the way the fluid moves, and using the Kinect is really smart because that takes in the input of movement and you don’t have to manipulate a lot of different things to make it work. Both controller input are smart they took something already made and just change it a little in order to manipulate the games, and they made the controls into something people would be able to understand easily.

The level that I designed was very short and it wasn’t too difficult, I think. I made with a theme of old school Mario going into a castle, but instead it being a lava level it was a spike level. The floor could still kill you but your goal in the level is too finish without taking damage. I added a slow scrolling mechanic to add a little anticipation as you try to go through the level and I have also added different enemies that you can encounter. This levels theme is all about timing and a little bit of adrenaline trying to get to the end.

Feedback:

Teaching mechanic at the flower to get coins, the spike mechanic is interesting to have at the bottom, interesting level.

Dying mechanic should be quick, or add more moving platform to show that there is a way of moving forward after you have fallen.

My first idea was asteroids but in first person, it that case it would be a first person shooter but in style of s Shmup. The game would be a remake on the classic asteroids with a twist of it being in first person which would give you the affect of having to figure out how fight off asteroids while not being able to see all of them. It a way it would be like VR asteroids, you only have control of you ship but other than that you don’t have a lot of sense where they are coming from until they are in a close proximity. All the rules stay the same, except for the first person part, and you would still need to defend yourself from the asteroid that are coming at you with minimum visibility.

My second idea was to have a shmup that has in-closing wall boundaries, as you progress in the game the walls get closer and closer. Its would be in a way a survival game mixed with shmup, you would have to survive the in-closing walls and enemy’s attacking you. There would be some sort of mechanic to keep the walls from closing in too fast or it could become a multiplayer where you have to hit a target to in-close the other players walls. The challenge would be to stop the walls or make it through the entire level without letting the walls kill you. If it becomes a multiplayer game there would be a serious challenge with having both enemies attacking and another player attacking as well. But it sounds like an interesting idea to pursue, it combines map obstacles and enemy obstacles to create a new shmup.

My third idea was a change of character, the playable characters would be watermelons with a elemental powers. Each melon has an ability that will help it on its journey through space fighting off enemies. Each elemelon has the ability of an element and you can filter through the different characters depending on the enemy you are fighting. The screen would be moving to the right at a constant speed so that the player doesn’t have an advantage to moving back, it has a mechanic similar to Cuphead. Its a constant fight with enemies or space junk, as you try to move from level to level. This is a space shoot em up game, that could become multiplayer possibly. But the game in its self would be a fast paste game trying to battle small enemies and Bosses.